


Into the depths, where the dark things dwell

by Sheeana



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 21:17:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheeana/pseuds/Sheeana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy doesn't have many ties left to his old life, but there's one he hasn't severed yet. Set between the end of the first season and the beginning of Invasion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the depths, where the dark things dwell

**Author's Note:**

  * For [failsafe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/failsafe/gifts).



The dim light from the failing lamp on the bedside table cast flickering shadows across the floor in Roy's safehouse. The dilapidated old single-room apartment was in a sorry state, abandoned by its former owners for so long that the paint was peeling off the walls and the green area rug had faded to a dull shade of brown. Every surface was collecting dust, except the bed, which was currently occupied. Probably for the last time, and that was probably for the best. Roy only had a few remaining connections to his old life. It was time this one was severed. Time to move on.

Beside him, Kaldur sat motionless on the edge of the bed, his back to Roy, his bare feet against the wood floor. Roy's eyes followed the thick black line up Kaldur's arm, then left it and traveled across his bare back and along his shoulder to the gills on his neck, the only immediately apparent feature that marked him as an Atlantean. His skin was also cool to the touch and smoother than any surface-dweller's, but Roy knew from experience that Kaldur cried out the same way as anyone when Roy bit down on the space where his shoulder met his neck. His heart beat the same way. He was as human as anyone. When it came down to it, he was just as fragile as the rest of them.

"Tomorrow I will become someone else," Kaldur said, after a long moment spent in silence. They didn't talk much when they met like this, but that was how Roy liked it. Too much talking only made things complicated. Too much talking only led to admitting things that didn't change anything.

"Welcome to the club," he said, sitting up on the opposite side of the bed and leaning down to find his discarded clothes. Pants, shirt, shoes, scattered across the floor in his earlier haste to get them off. The only thing he'd set down with any care was his bow, leaning neatly against the wall next to the bed. It paid to be prepared for anything. He'd learned that the hard way more than once.

"You do not understand," said Kaldur. "I will be hated by my friends. I must betray my king and everything I have ever believed in. And if we do not accomplish all we have set out to do, then I will have achieved nothing but harming those I care about."

"No, I get it. I really do. Giving up everything for your end game. I get that. But you and me, we're different."

"We have always been different, but I-"

"No, you don't get it. You're just pretending for awhile. If you don't get yourself killed, you get to come back when it's over. That's the difference, Kaldur – you're putting on a mask. I _am_ the mask. I never get to take it off and go back to my old life. I didn't have an old life. My memories aren't even real. At least you have that. At least you _were_ someone."

Kaldur had no immediate answer for that, or if he did he wisely kept it to himself while he finished putting on his clothes. On the brink of leaving the relative safety of the dusty room, though, he paused in the doorway, hesitating. He seemed reluctant to set foot outside. Roy knew the feeling. Out there, there was nothing between him and reality.

"Even if I am not its leader, you will always be welcome on the Team, Roy," Kaldur said finally, after some thought. That was Kaldur – always thinking things through. Always considering every angle before he acted. It was what made him a good leader. If Roy wasn't averse to the very idea of cooperative teamwork, he might have admired it a lot more than he did.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he replied. Kaldur hesitated again.

"If I do not return from where I am going-"

"I'm stopping you there. No long good-byes. Do what you have to and if you don't come back, you don't come back. That's just how it is."

"Is that how you parted with Green Arrow? With Cheshire? How long has it been?"

"It doesn't matter. It's over now." Things were rarely tied up so neatly, but he could pretend. Oliver Queen had stopped trying to contact him a long time ago, and Jade hadn't tried to find him in nearly three months now. Whether she'd given up like Oliver - doubtful, knowing Jade the way he did - or simply stopped caring whether he lived or died, he counted it as good fortune. Marrying her was an impulsive decision even by his standards, and his standards for impulsiveness weren't very high.

"You should not hide from everyone who cares about you, Roy. It is not weakness to have friends and allies. When this is over, we will talk." Kaldur was meeting his eyes, holding his gaze. Roy didn't flinch as he did up his pants and then stepped into his shoes. He'd heard this spiel before, from people in higher places than Kaldur, and none of them seemed to get it. It only reminded him of the things he couldn't have.

"Things like this don't end, Kaldur. You should know that by now. You can only go deeper into the rabbit hole."

"Into the depths, where the dark things dwell," said Kaldur. "We also have this saying in Atlantis. But if the depths are where I must go, then I will do what must be done. For the Team. For my people."

"You do what you have to, then. I'll look out for me. Maybe someday we'll compare notes and see who came out on top." Unlike Kaldur, Roy didn't pause when he reached the window. He vaulted over the ledge and then he was gone, descending rapidly down a cable to the dark, empty street below. They both had things to get done. Better not to waste anymore time talking about it.


End file.
